Ruling People's National Congress (PNC) MP for Kudahuvadhoo constituency Hussain Hameed has said today that the low rate of population growth in the country is deeply concerning. He urged the government to encourage population growth, even if through offering financial incentives.
In today's parliamentary debate on the Re-employment Bill, Hameed said that over recent years, it has become a 'fashion' or trend to not get more than one or two children. He asserted that the government must take the initiative to change this.
Hameed proposed that a financial incentive be offered to couples who opt to have more than two or three children.
If the childbirth rate does not increase, Maldives will see an aged population in about 50 years, data from the National Statistics Bureau indicates.
The childbirth rate in Maldives in the 90s was at 7.4, meaning an average of seven children in a family. About 30 years later, the 2022 census showed the childbirth rate had dropped to 1.7, with families opting to have an average of two children or less.
Hameed said that surveys show that the rate of population growth in Maldives will decline to a minus figure in 40 to 50 years unless this is urgently addressed.